Jun 13, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and friendly blogging chatter.

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Are you redesigning your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

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To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
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Are you a new blogger looking to share your very first post? We have a special forum for bloggers just like you in our weekly First Friday posts.

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  1. Once, long ago, I was given info about merging three bogs into one and have now lost it. (Earnest apologies, Cheryl Lucas!) I need to redesign/refresh but this merging of 3-to-1 is crucial, I feel. How can I do that–or can it be done? I like the idea of having a main blog and then tabs or a menu to access the two shorter, less followed blogs. Perhaps I will just have to start anew? Aargh. I have over 10,000 followers now and don’t want to make a mess of things, of course…. Thanks for any assistance from those who have successfully tackled this conundrum!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Could you post all 3 links up? I work as an e-commerce professional and I would be happy to take a look at the blogs and give you an opinion on how to link or merge content. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You are welcome to do so if you can for no cost as I’m afraid I’m not looking to hire someone at this time! 🙂 I was more interested in merging all three into one formatted blog; they are already linked. Thanks for the response!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Thank you so much! It’s a wonderful way for me to be creative. 🙂 I hope I can continue to grow my blog and followers.

        Any who! Your blog having 10K+ followers is very impressive! Since you already have a large following I would definitely keep that blog going. The other 2 are private or inactive but there are definitely ways to incorporate them into Tales for Life!

        One way is through menus (which I believe was already stated?). You can set your menus up to say Poetry or Photography and have them linked directly to the other blogs.

        The other option that should work is exporting/importing. In theory, you would export content out of one site (https://wordpress.com/support/export/) and import it into the site you prefer (https://wordpress.com/support/import/). I have never actually performed this task so definitely research it first!

        You could also have 3 separate entities that are branded in their own unique way and share and post content back and forth. This might be a good way to drive traffic to related articles or boost followers on the related blogs.

        If you’d like to refresh your blog there are a lot of templates and options that work well with a text rich content site: https://wordpress.com/design/type/free?s=writing

        Also, do you have a domain name?

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      5. That was a lot of information, thank you! I will further research the suggestions. I do have links to the other 2 blogs via the sidebar where I invite followers to peruse them. But that doesn’t seem to help much. I also would love to refresh the blog even if i am not certain of the linking or importing options yet. Thanks for more info. And re: domain name….uh…not sure? do you just mean the name of the main blog? Showing my considerable ignorance here! You have been generous with your time, thank you kindly. I will determne what I can manage over the next week or so.

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    2. Do you want to actually bring the posts and pages from all three blogs into a single blog, or do you just want your main blog to link to the other two from its menu?

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      1. Michelle, I was thinking of bringing the posts/pages to the main blog but find it so daunting a thought. I have seen and found effective the formats where a single blog has a menu or tabs for pieces in other genres offered, i.e., photograhy, poetry, fiction, etc.

        Like

      1. I’m looking for ways to create an audience and readership with fellow bloggers. Increasing traffic mainly as it’s pretty slow. But general comments and feedback is appreciated!

        Like

  5. Hello WordPressers,
    I am new to blogging and I am hoping to use it as a showcase for my talent with words and stories as well as a place that I can share my life’s lessons. I’ve had a rough few years and a traumatic past and I have always wanted to share it in hopes of helping others who are going, or have been through something similar. I am also trying to find proofreading work as it is a passion of mine. I want to make the written world a more beautiful place, one comma at a time! Any feedback or advice would be most appreciated.

    My Sincere Thanks and Happy Reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey, I like your posts, they’re well written and easy to read. I guess the difference between whether a post gets attention or not is down to the content of it as much as anything, and how you’re promoting it. Without seeing your stats it’s hard really to say, but it might be worth studying what it was that you did with the popular ones and what they are about to see how you can change the way you write the ones that don’t get as much attention.

      Liked by 2 people

  7. So I am trying to figure out a few things. I’ve completed two post so far. I am sure I will get the hang of things, like how to follow others and how to post links to my blogs? Any getting started info appreciated!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. This post will help you get started with posting links: https://wordpress.com/support/links/

      There are also more advanced coding once you get the hang of basics like target=”_blank” to open a link in a new window.

      You can follow people by clicking on the follow button on the right hand bottom corner of the browser window when you are viewing a blog or sometimes there are buttons or email sign ups. It depends on the template or how the blog is set up.

      Keep asking questions! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Your enthusiasm for blogging is wonderful. You write with passion and choose interesting topics. Keep on writing about what matters most to you! Furthermore, when i read the titles of your posts i feel like reading further, which is great.

      The thing i think you should be paying more attention to is punctuation, specially the use of commas. These are extremely important for the clarity and rhythm of your prose. Check this article out, it is very useful:

      http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp

      Pay special attention not to use capital letters in de midst of a sentence and always be sure to proofread a text a few times before publishing it. This way you can avoid spelling mistakes and make sure your text is clear. Perhaps you could show your texts to a teacher before publishing them? I’m sure he/she would be excited to helping you out!

      You should definitelly keep on writing and making photography, practise makes perfect! Fifteen years old is a great age for experimenting and start finding ‘your voice’. “Now, not later”, remember? 🙂 Good luck!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you very much, your advice is very helpful. I do have the tendency to use to many commas. Also I do need help with my spelling so I’ll show my mother before I publish anything. Furthermore your constructive criticism is very helpful. Thanks you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my article and I’m even more thankful that you sent me this:)

        Liked by 1 person

  12. So here’s the thing, it began when I asked Tanya Cliff (prodigalson) to critique a short story of mine of her choice, using the criteria, ‘what’s a story?’. I followed that up with a post called ‘Embrace Criticism and Learn’, which is self explanatory. Two days ago, I posted ‘Practice what I Blog,’ to illustrate my point. It contains a copy of a short story I sent to a Canadian writing festival. It was turned down but they provided copious critical notes, for which I am very grateful and included them in the post, asking for other bloggers to comment and offer their advice. There was some response, from three bloggers in particular. Then I posted Practice what I Blog Revisited and the rewritten story.
    http://dermotthayes.com/…/13/embrace-the-criticism-and-learn
    http://dermotthayes.com/2016/06/13/practice-what-i-blog
    http://dermotthayes.com/…/…/practicing-what-i-blog-revisited
    So, what do you think? Worthwhile? Useful exercise? Suicidal?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I do not think it quite qualifies as suicidal…a bit intense? sure thing…suicidal? nah! You have some good points in there and I almost like the constructive criticism…BUT, are you writing for yourself? Of so, you don’t need all those suggestions. Are you wanting to publish? then, listen to the criticism and try to follow it. if it feels good to YOU it is good.
      It does sort of remind me of what I went through in college comp 101 though. Be easy on yourself. perfection doesn’t come about easily you know. be kind to yourself.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, Suze. The suicide remark was facetious, mea culpa. No, the point was to show people how we can embrace criticism and use it to our advantage. If you delved in to the links, you can see the progression and no, I don’t write for myself. I don’t even understand that concept

        Liked by 1 person

      2. well yea, i figured that…i get snarky so it wasn’t a problem. lol yes, i saw the progression and it is clearly extremely helpful for writers.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Suze, I just read your blog about burying your Dad and thought it was hilarious. Thank you for your concern about my ‘suicidal’ tendencies. As a writer, it’s as common as scratching my arse. I’ll be careful in future as I don’t want you getting snarky at me.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Hello everyone!

    I would like to invite you to visit my blog https://amsterdive.com/. I am an actress who writes (or a writer who acts) and the blog centers in my personal experience living in Amsterdam. Art, places, photography, my personal routes to the city and plenty of self-reflection.

    Any feedback is welcome!

    Thank you in advance and keep up the good work 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Hello everyone.
    I’m rather new to this whole, coming out of my shell thing and even though I have had my blog for a good few years now, I’d really like to hear some feedback on it.
    I know asking for general advice/tips/comments/thoughts is bad juju, but I’d like to start generally and then become more specific in subsequent comments on here.
    So, if you’d like to advise me on anything concerning the blog please do so.
    Many thanks
    Jenn

    https://tragicfangirl.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Hey Bloggers! I’ve just started today! (Yes, today) Soo, I don’t have much ideas of what to post and how to attract readers. Please give me some ideas! Is it good to post random stuff, or is it better to follow a theme (such as food, daily events etc.)?

    Thanks!
    *Will be checking out some of the blogs in the comments!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. For what it’s worth, I think you should write about what you’re interested in and what you are passionate about! This is a great outlet for creativity, honing your writing skills, and meeting new folks.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. My question is, why are you doing the blog? If it’s for self-expression, write what pleases you. If you have a target audience, write what you think will be of most interest to them. For instance, my blog’s target audience is leaders and Christ-followers. I write for them and therefore keep all my posts related to those topics. https://gracelead.co

      Like

  22. Hey people, I am blogger and I want to make my blogs better, I would really appreciate if you gave me advice on how to make my blog posts better and get some thoughts from you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It would be nice to see a few words on your About page about the purpose of your blog site. One thing to consider as you begin to have many posts is a way to organize your site. Think about the types of topics that you use in your posts. You could set up Categories for those topics. You could assign each post to one of the Categories. If you put the Categories in your Menu, it would make it convenient for readers to find all your post on a topic that interests them. For an example of how this works, see my blog site: https://gracelead.co

      Like

  23. Hello everyone,
    I am completly new to the blog world and I would really appreciate if you could take a look at what I’ve done till now and share your thoughts about it!
    I have recently started a new blog about living with mental illnesses. There is not much for now but I want to show my personal thoughts about borderline personality disorder, depression, substance abuse. It is as well a story of my struggle, some chapters of my life.
    I feel that our society is still excluding and stigmatizing the ones who suffer from such illnesses. Even close friends and family are sometimes becoming distant, they have no knowledge of it, or simply they are afraid or just ashamed.
    But mostly I want to write this blog for people who feel the same way as I do. For me the knowledge that I am not alone with this burden, that there are people who suffer as much, gives a lot of hope.
    So thanks to everyone who gives it a try and shares some thoughts!

    Living with Borderline Personality Disorder. My story, my feelings; the words I wish I could say to the people I love.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Hello everyone!
    I’ve only been active in the blog world for a few months now but I’m really enjoying the outlet. My posts thus far have all been rooted in personal experience but I’ve read some great blogs on here that are entirely (to my knowledge) fiction. I love the idea of merging fact and fiction to create a blurred genre. I think it makes it possible to tell your story while also exploring other realms of possibility. Any tips on how to incorporate fiction amidst the truth are greatly appreciated as well as any thoughts/critiques/general musings on my current content are greatly appreciated as well! Thanks everyone!

    https://wordpress.com/posts/lhelm.com
    lhelm.com

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Hey guys! I just helped launch a cover reveal for a new book. Please stop by and check it out, let me know what you think of the cover! I’ve really been looking forward to this so I would really appreciate some love, maybe some feedback on how to make a cover reveal a little more exciting? Anything would be great 🙂 thanks guys. I appreciate you all!

    BoyzNite Cover Reveal!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. my first thought after looking over your posts was “what does she really want to write about?” this isn’t a negative thought, just a curious one. perhaps you’d benefit by creating one or two basic categories and have a static front page? that would take people to the things that are all in the same category. Like your recipes and how to make the foods are wonderful, the pictures clear and the descriptions good. makes me want to go cook..but I was a bit offput when there was a men’s underweae post immediately after the food post. I giggled, but wanted really to find more posts about food at that point! See what happens when you make a person hungry?

      Like

      1. Hey! Thank you so much for your feedback. I’m interested in different things, and therefore I decided to not focus my blog only on one specific subject. I don’t know if you took a look at my “About” page, but I explain a bit how my blog works there. The posts are already divided in categories though and on the menu on the right, one can click and access to a specific category and have all similar posts together. But the idea of a static front page, with the different categories highlighted there, is good. I actually already thought about it when I started, but couldn’t really figure how to make it and gave up on the idea hehe I may try to sort that out again 🙂
        I took a look at your blog and I liked it! And I guess in a way our blogs are similar: my blog doesn’t exactly have a purpose either, just a place for me “to blather on about stuff” as you said 😉

        Liked by 1 person

      2. well, I have to say I really really did like your blog. and I know I somehow managed to make my about me page into a static front page but I honestly couldn’t repeat whatever it was I did.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. i must have missed a wp lesson somewhere as I never actually found your post. I clicked the link, nice picture and a lot of comments…but no post.

      Liked by 1 person

      3. yea! you make some very good points. I suggest finding someone to help you edit for proper english punctuation and structure. It is difficult at best and horrible most times trying to write properly and all of us need assistance at times.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. INDEED!!! you are write 🙂
        It will take time to find a person who will do this for me.. 😀
        but I am working over making my English readable..

        Liked by 1 person

  29. Please help. I’ve noticed when I log into my blog, my ‘blog’ page shows my home page stuff, but then after clicking through my pages a couple of times it then show my actual blog. I have checked that my home page is listed as the ‘front’ and my blog page is listed as ‘posts page’…if that makes sense. I’m really not sure what else to try. Please can anyone offer any advise? Thank you

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I’m not quite sure what problem you’re trying to solve — could you explain a little more about what isn’t working as you expect? All your links and menu items appear to be working properly.

      Like

      1. Hi Michelle. Thanks for replying. This is all new to me so I may not be understanding properly. I just logged into my blog and the front page is ‘home’. I clicked ‘blog’ to see my posts but when the screen changed it still brought up my front page titled ‘home’. i’m sure this isn’t happening when others look at it because no-one has mentioned it. This has only happened in the last few days Grrrrrr, not sure what else to say. I guess if it’s looking ok to any viewers I shouldn’t worry too much. Thanks

        Like

      2. Since it’s not happening to readers and I can’t get it to happen either, can you contact our support folks (help@wordpress.com)? They may be able to investigate more deeply, or have suggestions re: something that may be happening with your browser.

        Like

    2. i clicked all pages on your blog and the blog page goes straight to the posts…all pages seem to be working properly. Are you perhaps looking at your blog in the wp reader? mine does the same thing when I try to read it or check it out there.

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      1. Hi Suze, thanks for your reply. I think you are correct, I’m looking at it through WP Reader…thought I was going crazy, this is still all so new to me. I’ll stop worrying now. Thanks again

        Liked by 1 person